Self-locking gearing



0t.1,1946. F B,EH, HAL 2,408,365

' SELF LOCKINGGEARING I. i l

Filed Jan. 5l, 1944 AT1-DEN EYS l Patented Oct. 1, 1946 Fred .Bielli-and Edward 0. Thompson, Peshtigo, Wis.; said Biehl assignor to said Thompson Application January 31, 1944, Serial No. 520,396

This invention relates to improvements in selfaware of the fact that attemptshave been made in the past to provide self-locking gear sets but, so far as we are aware, only partial success' has been achieved and then, onlyby constructions in which a dual gear and a split or dual pinion are required. As will hereinafter be explained, we use a ring gear in order that the interdental spaces may diverge rather than converge, and we use a peculiar form of gear tooth in the ring gear so that, notwithstanding the use vof roller pinion teeth, which operate with a minimum of friction, weare able not only to achieve the necessary clearances and the desirable ease of operation but to assurethe positive locking ofthe gear regardless of the position in which the operator may cease to rotate the pinion.` A

Other objectsV will vbe apparent uponanalysis of the following disclosure.

In the drawing: g Y

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view partially in section and partially in side elevation showing our invention incorporated in a hoist.

Figure 2 is a view taken in section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary detail View similar to Figure 2 showing the pinion in the locking position which it assumes to resist any tendency of the gear to rotate.

Like parts will be identified by the same reference characters throughout the several views.

While our invention has particular advantages as applied to a'hoist, it may also be used wherever a self-locking gear set is desired. The hoist illustrated is of simple construction in which the base 4 carries standards 5 and 6 which support a, shaft 1 uponk which the drum 8 is mounted for rotation. The flange 9 at one end of the drum 8 carries a ring gear I an-d teeth II, each of which, adjacent its apex, is preferably beveled at' I2.

Journaled in the standard is a pinion shaft I5 to which power Vmay be vapplied in any desired manner, as by the crank I-B. The head Il s claims. (C1. 'i4-'413) "atthe inner end of shaft I5 is provided'at either side of the shaft axis with studsY I8 screwthreaded tothe head and rotatably supporting the rollers 20. 'The rollers are receivable into the interdental spaces 2| of the ring gear and act as lteeth to transmit motion from the pinion shaft to the ring gear and thence to the drum 8. A closure 22fmay be applied to theotherwise open side of the ring 'gear to enable the lubricant to be retained therein. I

As the pinion shaft I5 is rotated, thejrollers -20 will be alternately caused toenter successive interdental spaces 2 I in the ring gear. The roll-A ers will act on the beveled facesof successive teeth Il in entering and leaving such'spaces. There is clearance for therollers only because the radial center lines drawn between successive teeth through the interdental 'spaces 2I are divergent, due to the fact that gear I0 is a" ring gear. If gear IIJ were a spur gear, the pinion teeth would have to enter the interdental spaces along lines which would be convergent and there would not be clearance such that the teeth could be mounted in the .same plane. The prior artl attempted to solve thisV problem by providingl the gears and'pinions in dual organizations.y

It will be noted that the rdedendum circlel to which the tips ofl theteeth II extend, passes through the projection of pinion shaft I5 .close toV the axis thereof. If the axis of the pinion shaftv` were remote from the circle'represvented by the tips of the gear teeth, the gear set could not be vself-locking.

It is not essential that the circle drawn through the tips of the gear teeth should exactly intersect the axis of the pinion shaft because of the provision of the beveled surfaces I2 which converge toward the tips of the respectiveV teeth. These beveled surfaces exert a camming action on the rollers 20 and, as will be observed in Figure 3, the camming action is exerted upon the respective rollers in directions tending to produce opposite rotation of the pinion shaft. Figure 3 shows the parts in the position they assume when the gear IU tends to rotate counterclockwise. The beveled surface I2 which engages the pinion roller 20 which is at the right in Figure 3 tends to rotate the pinion shaft I5 counterclockwise while the beveled surface which engages the pinion roller at the left in Figure 3 is tending to rotate the pinionv shaft clockwise. Since the forces exerted upon the respective rollers are equal and opposite, the gear locks. It is an important feature of the invention that the gear will lock by the respective bevels Y itself in like manner regardless of the direction in which the gear I tends to rotate and regardless of the position in which the pinion shaft is left. Unlike some devices of the prior art, it

is not necessary to leave the pinion in a par-- s to any further motion initiated bythe ring gear.

On the other hand, the lock can be released by the slightest pressure applied directly to the pinion shaft. In actual practice, a hoist made in accordance with disclosure of Figure 1, loaded to its full' capacity of about 2000 pounds, will hold its load in any position without a brake, but can be lowered without using the crank by simply rotating the pinion shaft by hand.

Of course, in order to lift the load, the crank would be used, but the roller teeth oi the pinion minimize the lfriction. While it is recognized that such teeth are old per se, they have not heretofore been used in any self-locking gear because most self-locking gears depend measurably upon friction to achieve the desired result. The present gear accomplishes its self-locking function mechanically, thereby enabling such anti-friction devices as the roller pinion teeth to be incorporated without destroying the selflocking eiect.

We claim:

1. In a self-locking gear set, the combination with a pinion comprising a head rotatable upon a predetermined axis and provided at points spaced from said axis with axially projecting stud teeth revoluble about said axis in the rotation of said head, in combination with a ring gear mounted for rotation about a predetermined axis and in a plane which includes said pinion stud teeth, said ring gear comprising an annular series of inwardly projecting teeth with which the stud teeth of the pinion mesh, the ring gear teeth being spaced to provide interdental openings diverging substantially on radii of the ring gear and into which alternate teeth of the pinion are successively receivable, each ring gear tooth having inwardly converging beveled faces, said faces being so positioned as to correspondingly and simultaneously engage opposite teeth of the pinion when such teeth are disposed in a position such that a line drawn between them will lie substantially at right angles to a radius of the ring gear.

2. A self-locking but easily operable gear set comprising the combination with a ring gear mounted for rotation upon a predetermined axis and provided with an annular series of teeth and with interdental spaces diverging radially, each of said teeth having an apex and beveled side faces converging toward said apex, of a pinion provided with a head disposed at one side of the plane of the ring gear and mounted for rotation upon an axis close to and slightly within an imaginary circle connecting the apices of the several teeth of the ring gear, and-studs projecting from said head at opposite sides of the axis of pinion head rotation, each of said studs being provided with an anti-friction roller, the respective studs and rollers constituting pinion teeth alternately engageable in the rotation of said head in successive interdental spaces of the ring gear, the beveled faces of the ring gear teeth being so disposed as to exert equal and opposite pressure moments upon the respective rollers of the pinion when the pinion rollers are in a position such that a line connecting their centers is substantially at right angles to a radius of the ring gear.

3. In a self-locking gear set the combination with a ring gear having inwardly projecting teeth provided near their inner ends with bevels, of a pinion comprising diagonally opposed teeth operatively connected to mesh with teeth of the ring gear, the axis of the pinion being slightly spaced inwardly from the path of movement of the ends of the ring gear teeth and the pinion teeth being simultaneously engageable .by the beveled end portions of successive ring gear teeth with camlning action exerting substantially equal and opposite rotative pressures upon the said pinion teeth when the relative loading of the gear and pinion is such that the gear tends to drive the pinion.

FRED V'BILli-Hlli. EDWARD O. THOMPSON. 

